It's official

Yes, after a grueling battle, the committee unanimously awarded both Mark and me the coveted title of "Parent of the Year."

We were told that our only competition was really each other and after the brilliant display last Thursday they really had no choice but to allow us to share the title. Grandma did receive an honorable mention however.

You see, last Thursday after swimming, Mark, myself, Grandma, Grandpa and the kids went to a car show in Danville. There were zillions of people and after making a pass down the main street we decided to bail and get something to eat. On the way back to the car we stopped at an Indian Restaurant. We asked to be seated on the patio as it was completely empty. The kids were being a bit of a handful; Makena kept wanting to go to the potty and Kessler didn't want to be held.

Mark had been wrestling with Kessler for a while so I suggested that he just put him on the ground (again, we were the only ones there.) When he started to crawl around one of us followed him. It was the perfect solution, until our food came. Grandpa had gone to take Makena to the restroom again. Grandma, Mark and I were identifying our meals and making room for the plates, as people tend to do in this situation. When the waitress left, Mark said, "Where's Kessler?" I tend to be inclined to overreact but in this instance there was no need. We were in a relatively small enclosed area. He had to be under another table somewhere or behind one of the pillars. It had only been seconds since we last saw him. Mark heads to the other side of one of the pillars with purpose and I think, "see, we just couldn't see him." Only, he doesn't stop at the pillar he keeps going.. then he's on the other side of the little wall--outside of the patio. How did he get there? Grandma jokes, "Kessler's probably in the street." Then I hear, "Shit, Kel!" and watch Mark pick up the pace. I look ahead of Mark to see Kessler sitting on the sidewalk just a few feet from an extremely busy road. This is only after crawling past a packed parking lot.

Here's a visual:



All joking aside, it was an extremely horrifying experience. How did he move so quickly? How did none of us notice? I wasn't even close to questioning where he was yet! This really brought home the realization the we often get comfortable that the kids are being looked after when there are a lot of people around. The reality is, it's just the opposite. Everyone always thinks someone has the kids. Very scary!

Cement Truck

Makena likes vehicles, all kinds of vehicles--trucks, cars, motorcycles, contruction vehicles. When we were driving along and she saw a vehicle that she didn't recongnize she would ask, "what's that car mommy?" She's built up her database and estatically points out the less common vehicles. Her favorites are garbage trucks, diggers and now cement trucks.

This morning on the way to school we saw one. Here's the conversation:

Makena: "Oh, a c-mint truck, mommy."
Mommy: "Yep."
Makena: "It has mints in it."
Mommy: (laughing a little) "No sweetie, it has cement in it."
Makena: "Yes, it has mints in it."
Makena: "I like mints."
Makena: "Whenever people give me mints I say thank you."
Mommy: "That's good sweetie."
Makena: "We have mints at home."
Mommy: "Yeah, maybe."
Makena: "Noooooo. We don't have mints at home."
Makena: "I like mints."

Pay back

Since Femme's husband taught Makena to make fart noises, we have been identifying select toys that we plan to send to Junior.

Today I was with Makena in her room. She walked over to her toy box and pulled out a very obnoxious car and said, "This not supposed to be here." It is Kessler's so it should be in his room, I thought. She continued, "this is for Femme and Husband."

Good girl!

Expensive Lesson

I think I'm going to be sick.

Mark's 40th birthday is in September. In December I started to plan a surprise birthday party for him.. in Fiji. I booked the flight/hotel in January only to have one of Mark's friends RSVP yes. No biggie, we need a vacation anyway. I paid for the travel insurance thinking I'd be safe if I needed to make changes. I did tell Mark that I had planned the trip and gave him the dates; he was unaware that his friend would be coming from Australia.

Meanwhile, Mark has been working really hard to establish a relationship with SAP for our business. Long story short, it's working. He suggested a joint road show with them to promote some services we offer. They loved the idea and totally ran with it. Last week they selected the dates. Yep, they conflict with our trip. Thank goodness for the travel insurance, right?

Upon reading the fine print, I realized I've been dupped. For $107.95 I purchased the right to receive a refund of $800 per ticket provided there is a death or serious injury with one of the traveling parties!! That's it. Oh, and if we have a documented accident on the way to the airport to catch our flight.. well, they'll provide the refund then as well. It gets worse. We do receive a credit for the tickets, but the credit has to be used within one year of the purchase date. That was January, even though the travel dates were in September. We aren't going to be able to travel internationally before then! And, if we could, they are going to charge us a $280 reissue fee per ticket.

I must exude confidence

My mother-in-law just came up to me and said, "This reminded me of you" and handed me this book:

Turns out smart-assedness is hereditary after all! :)

String Bean

Kessler had his one year check up this past Friday. Everything went well. He didn't cry at all for one of his vaccinations and cried less than two seconds for the others. Thank goodness!

I can't find the paper that has his measurements!! But, I remember he's 33 inches long putting him 100% plus for height. He's in the 75th percentile for weight and 70th for head circumference. Big boy!

Itty Bitty Twinkle Twinkle

This video is a few months old. I think it was from April, but I couldn't find it when I tried to post it. I found it, so here you go!

We were driving back from school and Kessler was crying. Makena started to sing to him and it worked! Here is Makena finishing up her performance!

Snake Charmer

Makena has been having a rough time at school. As I mentioned in a previous post, she moved up a class. With taking a week off last week and grandma and grandpa being in town, going to the Koala Bear class is not on the top of Makena's to-do list. She cried on Tuesday when I dropped her off. I went back to hang out with her after my dentist appointment.

I didn't get a good feeling about the class, so I decided to hang out for a while today as well. Unfortunately, for that particular goal, the Koala Bears were not actually in class this morning. Instead, Desert Dave came in to show the kids his reptile collection. I can describe what happened next but I'm certain I cannot adequately explain how it felt to live it!

We walked to the classroom where Desert Dave was going to present. Makena thought I was going to leave her so she started to cry. I convinced her that I was staying and we sat on those itty bitty kid chairs. Desert Dave brought out a tortoise first and walked around the room for the kids to pet her. Makena passed on that, but she was game for the next tortoise, and the next 5 lizards. And the next snake. Then, when Desert Dave asked for a helper to walk around the class with the next snake wrapped around her/his neck -- it might tickle a bit, Makena put her fingers to her neck and did the tickle motion, looked at me and said, "I want to do it." "You do?" "Yes." (Really? Crap. Wow! What a superstar! I hate snakes. She's so brave. I really hate snakes. --all those thoughts collided inside me head at once.) So, I looked at Desert Dave who gave me the nod to bring her up. Next thing I know he's wrapping the snake around my little girl's neck. Mind you, the photos below take about 20 pounds off the snake. He was MUCH bigger in person.

Makena made it a third of the way around the room before she asked to have the snake removed. She was very calm still. I am sooo proud of her. She, at 3, has done something that I have never nor will never do! Amazing.

I have to say that one of the most difficult parts about today was that I almost missed it. I had no idea they were doing this. Had they told me that Desert Dave was going to be there showing off reptiles, I probably wouldn't have gotten that excited about it. I was so bummed that Mark, Grandma and Grandpa missed out on it and that I almost did too! Though, I suspect Makena was a more willing participant because I was there, so she may not have actually worn the snake if I wasn't, but still I would have missed the rest of it too! Only one other parent was there. I feel so sorry for those that missed out!

Anyway, having not known what was going on, I didn't bring me camera. So, I asked one of the teachers to take some photos. They aren't the best quality, but I'm so happy to have them!!

The Last Few Weeks

Time to catch up again.

Kessler is 1.

Yep, I can't believe it but Kessler turned one last Friday, July 11th. We celebrated by combining our company party in LA with a trip to Disneyland and another trip to Catalina Island. Here are some photos of Kessler with his cake!



Semi-Sub

Here are some photos of the ride we took on the Semi-Submersible Sub on Catalina:



More Cataline Photos

We ate at a restaurant that we had never eaten at before. It was sooo good! But anyway--more photos.



The Fun Daddy.



The Bad Daddy.

Mark convinced Makena the underpants that grandma and grandpa gave her was actually a hat. Mind you, he convinced her by putting a pair on his head, but I couldn't get the camera fast enough.



Fourth of July
It was even colder than these photos would lead you to believe. The fireworks were late to start. Kessler was fussy, but as soon as they started the had his full undivided attention! Makena loved them as well.



Fruits of our Labor

Mark and I have been trying to stop Makena from getting upset about flies. We've been telling her, "there's no need to get upset; when you see one, just say shew fly."
Fast forward to the drive to the airport to pick up grandma and grandpa a few weeks ago. A driver driving much too slow for Mark's liking was ahead of us. Here's a transcript from the conversation that followed:
Mark: "Move, you schmuck."
Makena: "Daddy! Don't say that!"
Mark: "Don't say what sweetheart?"
Makena: "F---. Say, 'shew fly' instead."

Rocket ship

A few weeks ago I bought a different brand of milk. I think I bought it because the supermarket was out of our usual and this particular one had Omega 3. Anyway, the change did not go unnoticed by Makena. She started and kept asking for "Rocket ship Milk". Sure enough, there's a rocket ship on the milk carton. For several days, whenever we went anywhere that might sell milk, Makena would ask for "Rocket ship Milk." I have managed to successfully dance around the fact that we are no longer buying that milk because it's not organic and it's much more expensive than the organic milk we usually buy. I mention the milk story because I have no idea whether it's related to another Makenaism. We've been to Santa Cruz a few times this year. Makena is brave and will do just about any ride. We do recall one ride that did not require a lot of bravery--some rocket ships going around in circles. It really is quite forgettable. Anyway, on the drive home Makena asked, "Do you remember my rocket ship?" She asked this over and over and over again. She's ask, we'd answer, she'd ask again, we'd answer and so on. It did somehow transition to "What color is my rocket ship?" and "What color is your rocket ship, Mommy/Daddy/Kessler?" Mark and I could never quite connect this to the ride as Makena didn't really seem to remember the unmemorable ride. Maybe it was the milk?

It might have been little..

but..

It left the floor.
There was forward motion.
All occured in the vertical position.

Yes, Kessler just took his first step.

Crap. We are in trouble now.